re: USC is currently dead last in recruiting in the PAC 12

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We had a feeling this year’s class could be a rough one based on the shaky job status of head coach Clay Helton. Nothing kills a recruiting class like a rumored coaching change. In fact, rumors of a coaching change are always much worse on a class than the coaching change itself.

“Helton has been on the hot seat now three years in a row and you just can’t have that,” said Ryan Abraham, owner and publisher of USCFootball.com “I’ve been doing this since 1996 and this is the worst I’ve seen it by far. If you go by the talent composite, USC has the fourth-most talent in the country but has lost 11 games the last two years.

“Think about that for a second. They have the same level of talent as Alabama, Clemson and Georgia but have lost 11 games in two years and still, the admin won’t make a change. Everyone loves Clay, I get that, he’s a great guy. He’s not going to rock the boat like someone like Urban Meyer would. Meyer would come in and clean house and they want to avoid that but I can honestly say, this is pretty much rock bottom. There’s no way to spin this. They didn’t sign a single top 25 player from California and that just can’t happen.”

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In the past, the USC brand was always so strong and powerful, the Trojans could afford to take their time in evaluating and offering players, especially local players. A torrid close late was a Signing Day tradition. With the calendar being moved up now, that approach might need to be tweaked.

We talked with the father of a five-star recruit whose son grew up a USC fan but who decided to head elsewhere.

“USC came in late and offered after just about everyone else,” he said. “As a family, we visited USC a lot but it was almost like they waited until he had all these national offers and was a bigger brand and then they offered.

“It seemed like they took for granted they could swoop in any time and get him. You can’t do that with these kids any more. When you have schools from outside the region recruiting them so much harder and having so much success, players aren’t going to stay and play for a local school any more just because it’s a big brand or the local school.”

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